THE NEW KID AT LUNCH by Greg Lammers
The new kid sat by himself at a corner table staring expressionless at the wall. He took regular bites of his sandwich. He chewed with his mouth open. His stringy hair fell down to his clothes which looked old and in need of some repair. They hung loose around his thin frame.
Ethan was almost running, carrying his tray back toward the kitchen. He dropped the tray on top of the others like it. He would have to hurry to catch his friends already outside.
He saw the new kid sitting by himself.
“Hi, my name is Ethan,” he said as he sat down across from the smaller boy. “What’s your name?”
The boy’s gray eyes moved to look at Ethan. His eyes didn’t meet Ethan’s eyes though, they seemed to be focused above his head, or maybe his forehead. He said nothing.
“I just wanted to introduce myself,” continued Ethan, “we’re playing undead monsters outside if you want to play when you’re done.”
The new kid smiled and hummed to himself “hmmm.” He continued to look just above Ethan’s eyes like he was remembering an event from long ago or thinking about a toy, or favorite food, or game he might like.
“Okay, nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see you outside,” Ethan said over his shoulder as he stood and turned to leave.
The new kid watched Ethan walk away. He looked down at his sandwich and took another bite. He felt happy. He’d met someone in his new school. He’d been in many schools in 120 years, this one seemed nice. Plus, his Mom had packed his favorite sandwich again today, the blood seeped into the bread just like he liked.